Articles by Deepa Mohan

The BBMP is intent, it appears, on cutting down pavements wherever it can widen the roads for the ever-increasing motorized vehicle traffic of this city...but our pavements are areas where a lot of vibrant life exists. Instead of thinking of our footpath users (apart from pedestrians, who are, anyway, an endangered species), perhaps we should appreciate the way life is led along these urban spaces.Here are two young women that I photographed in Indira Nagar.The first is a bangle seller, vending the lac-and-mirror bangles that are so famous in Rajasthan.The second one is selling an assortment of bead necklaces:They both…

The BBMP is intent, it appears, on cutting down pavements wherever it can widen the roads for the ever-increasing motorized vehicle traffic of this city...but our pavements are areas where a lot of vibrant life exists. Instead of thinking of our footpath users (apart from pedestrians, who are, anyway, an endangered species), perhaps we should appreciate the way life is led along these urban spaces.Here are two young women that I photographed in Indira Nagar.The first is a bangle seller, vending the lac-and-mirror bangles that are so famous in Rajasthan.The second one is selling an assortment of bead necklaces:They both…

Using a car on Bangalore roads? Then,when you fill up petrol (at the petrol pumps in the city, you are generally given the "perk" of "Free Air"...that is, the car tyre pressure is checked and filled by an attendant, and it is supposed to be a service free of cost.However, over the years, the habit has been established, of tipping the attendant a couple of rupees. Quick to notice this, petrol pumps pay their attendants a little less, the rationale being that they will pick up the tips from motorists! So the attendants are keen that no one go away…

Using a car on Bangalore roads? Then,when you fill up petrol (at the petrol pumps in the city, you are generally given the "perk" of "Free Air"...that is, the car tyre pressure is checked and filled by an attendant, and it is supposed to be a service free of cost.However, over the years, the habit has been established, of tipping the attendant a couple of rupees. Quick to notice this, petrol pumps pay their attendants a little less, the rationale being that they will pick up the tips from motorists! So the attendants are keen that no one go away…

I spent a very pleasant morning at Lalbagh today....I started at the Glass House, where the floral exhibits for Independence Day are taking shape, and this Anthurium exhibit was stunning....As I walked around, both cultivated and "grow-on-the=tree" flowers caught my eye.Here's an insect pollinating one flower:The Seeta Ashoka tree still has some flowers, though it's strictly not the season:The water lilies on the lake are breathtakingly beautiful...The spider lilies, aptly named for their shape, bloom along the shores of the water bodies:But I couldn't identify this tree, which had such beautiful flowers:I walked past the old pavilion; what tales it…

I spent a very pleasant morning at Lalbagh today....I started at the Glass House, where the floral exhibits for Independence Day are taking shape, and this Anthurium exhibit was stunning....As I walked around, both cultivated and "grow-on-the=tree" flowers caught my eye.Here's an insect pollinating one flower:The Seeta Ashoka tree still has some flowers, though it's strictly not the season:The water lilies on the lake are breathtakingly beautiful...The spider lilies, aptly named for their shape, bloom along the shores of the water bodies:But I couldn't identify this tree, which had such beautiful flowers:I walked past the old pavilion; what tales it…

At the outskirts of Bangalore, many small-scale vendors try to beat the middlemen by selling direct-to-consumer....First one sees one basket of custard apples...Then a few..Then a few more...And if one takes the larger view, one can see that it is definitely custard apple season now, all down the road!I wonder..when the baskets are arrayed in serried ranks like that...is there a cartel that dictates the minimum price? How can the sellers hope to get a reasonable margin on their fruit? And an interesting point about those baskets is, they seem to be made from lantana twigs...surely a good use of…

At the outskirts of Bangalore, many small-scale vendors try to beat the middlemen by selling direct-to-consumer....First one sees one basket of custard apples...Then a few..Then a few more...And if one takes the larger view, one can see that it is definitely custard apple season now, all down the road!I wonder..when the baskets are arrayed in serried ranks like that...is there a cartel that dictates the minimum price? How can the sellers hope to get a reasonable margin on their fruit? And an interesting point about those baskets is, they seem to be made from lantana twigs...surely a good use of…

Some years ago, all of us had to bear with the roads, and sidewalks too, getting dug up for various reasons; one of them was OFC. "OFC"! said the little concrete signposts said, that came up later on the spot. OFC stood for Optic Fibre Cable; this was going to be the cable that would make Bangalore the city of the future, with internet connectivity everywhere.Then there were reports in the newspaper that there were only the pipes laid down; the actual optic fibre cable itself was missing. "Ah!" we breathed; it was nothing new to Bangalore to have something…

Some years ago, all of us had to bear with the roads, and sidewalks too, getting dug up for various reasons; one of them was OFC. "OFC"! said the little concrete signposts said, that came up later on the spot. OFC stood for Optic Fibre Cable; this was going to be the cable that would make Bangalore the city of the future, with internet connectivity everywhere.Then there were reports in the newspaper that there were only the pipes laid down; the actual optic fibre cable itself was missing. "Ah!" we breathed; it was nothing new to Bangalore to have something…